STEVE DAMISH: Chasing the dragons of addiction

Monday

Feb 24, 2014 at 10:15 AMFeb 24, 2014 at 12:18 PM

COMMENTARY: Already serving a burgeoning customer base by providing a near-pure form of heroin that can be inhaled, dealers have adapted to give addicts the illusion they can chase the dragon – and even catch it.

Steve Damish The Enterprise

In the end, even after his friend had died from an overdose, two others had nearly died, and he had been warned by fellow users that a bad batch of heroin was seeping through the region and killing people, the addict had one thing on his mind: How can I get some?

After all, he reasons, if this stuff is killing people, it must be good. Strong. And it won’t kill him, because he can handle it.

Such is life in the fuzzy, crazy, tragic world of heroin addiction, where death is a draw, not a deterrent, and addicts are forever trying to relive the colossal and triumphant euphoria of the first few times they used.

But they can’t, because it came long before their bodies rebelled, developed a tolerance and began withering under the weight of frequent use – it came back when the drug swept unabated through mind and matter and created a rush of infallibility, wonder and bliss.

Still, they try. They seek stronger heroin, different concoctions or delivery systems, anything and everything to recreate that moment.

They call this quest “chasing the dragon,” a phrase that originated from smoking opiates more than injecting, but one that defines what addicts are up against.

After all, they are pursuing that which can’t be caught, and something so deadly that it shouldn’t. But it’s also something that, at least in their muddled minds, they think might restore that initial high.

It’s a nightmarish, yet often inevitable, situation, one that leads to despair, pain, overdose and death.

And drug dealers love it.

Already serving a burgeoning customer base by providing a near-pure form of heroin that can be inhaled, they have adapted to give addicts the illusion they can chase the dragon – and even catch it.

They’ve groomed their product, strengthened it, and now provide a brutal version of heroin, one often boosted with the potent painkiller fentanyl.

The concoction is on a rampage in the region, responsible for dozens of overdoses in the Taunton and Brockton area in the past month.

People are dropping daily.

But that is not the scary part of this crisis. Despite years of warning, scores of deaths, countless stories of loss, and endless politician-driven meetings, much of Massachusetts remains unable to stop these overdoses.

That’s a tragedy.

Nowhere is this more obvious and damaging than at the front lines, with our first responders. In a sad commentary on how little progress we’ve made dealing with this epidemic, many still don’t carry the anti-overdose drug Narcan, or naloxone, a simple inhalant proven to save lives.

It is one of the most basic tools, and one that has been distributed since shortly after this newspaper shined the light on the epidemic seven years ago.

The reasons, at this point, aren’t relevant, and it’s refreshing to hear that the Norfolk County district attorney, who called the addiction battle a “war,” is spearheading an effort to equip every first responder in his county with Narcan.

It’s years overdue, because this war has ravaged the region – and is unrelenting.

It’s time to, finally, outfit the soldiers, equip the residents, band forces together, and face this head-on.

Time to slay some dragons.

Enterprise managing editor Steve Damish can be reached at sdamish@enterprisenews.com.